“I am so excited to be included in the WATER show. Painting the coast and the water is my favorite subject matter and what I feel most connected with,” shares Maine Art Hill artist Jill Matthews.
Matthews is one of four artists participating in WATER at the Shows on Maine Art Hill.
“I decided to work much larger for this show. It’s a bit of a challenge for me. I can’t focus on one spot of the canvas for too long. After all, it’s so large I have to constantly be backing up, taking in all in, and reworking things,” says Matthews. “I can move around a big piece differently than I can a smaller one. It’s free, but I still have to focus. So it’s a little mix of both.”
When she works smaller, Matthews tends to get hyper-focused on specific things.
“It is a bit looser with a larger canvas, but I have to see the big picture. I enjoy working with a bigger surface, especially when the ocean’s subject matter, with a focus on the sky,” she says. “I love the larger landscape spans.”
Matthews’s other passion is running. It is always lovely when two passions can support each other.
“I spend a lot of time outside. For example, I am training for the Boston Marathon this fall. Due to the heat, I am up in the early morning, getting in a run, and then again during evening hours. There is a great deal of inspiration on these runs,” explains Matthews. “They give me time to explore the coast’s landscape in a way I haven’t seen before.”
When water is concerned, weather plays a big part in what we see. Even for trained artists, it’s difficult not to let the weather influence the art.
“We have had a great deal of different weather this summer—a lot of rain. I wanted to focus on the sky and how it interacts with the rest of the landscape. I usually don’t focus on the sky and have preferred a foggy landscape,” Matthews shares. “That takes the sky out of it. I need to focus on what the sky is doing. It’s a new challenge. It gives me a chance to focus on color and texture differently concerning how the sky interacts with other elements. It has been fun.”
This show was a chance to explore what I love to do: paint water and connect with the coast. Yet this time, I was pushed to do it differently.
To see the show in its entirety, including the 360-degree virtual tour, click here.
Preview opens Wednesday, September 1. Virtual Tour is available on the evening of Friday, September 3.
To see our complete collection of each artists’ works, click below
Ellen Welch Granter – Artist Page
Kathy Ostrander Roberts – Artist Page
To read more about the process, inspiration, and background of each artist, click below.
William B. Hoyt – Insights and Stories
Ellen Welch Granter – Insights and Stories